The AACCS Naples Detachment of the Army Air Corps, 1943-1947

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The Army Airways Communications Service (AACS) was created by the Army Air Corps on November 15, 1938, the result of a proposal y Lt. Col. Henry H. (Hap) Arnold, destined to become Chief of the Army Air Corps. Its purpose was to operate Air Corps radio facilities for the control of air traffic between Army Flying Fields in the Continental United States.

Communications have been an integral part of the United States Air Force from its beginning in 1926, when the Army Air Corps was created from the Army Signal Corps. The early Army aviators were aware that the advent of radio offered the potential for air-to-ground and ground-to-air communication, but it was not until the 1930's that radio equipment for aircraft was developed to shield the equipment from engine interference, minimize its size and weight, and eliminate the danger of fire from inadequate wiring. In 1934, then Lt. Col. Henry H. (Hap) Arnold, led a flight of ten B-10 bombers on a round trip flight to Alaska from Bolling Field, Washington, D.C., demonstrating the dependability of newly developed radio equipment. More importantly, the flight demonstrated the Air Corps' need for airways communications dedicated to national defense requirements. Following his flight, Arnold advocated the establishment of a separate communications system for military aircraft. The system would provide point-to-point communications stations for the transmission of flight plans and operating orders, with any one of several stations capable at any time to establish radio contact with aircraft in flight. The network would also broadcast weather information and provide control for all arrival and departure traffic at military airfields.

Initially, the AACS was charged "with the operation of all fixed Air Corps radio facilities installed for the purpose of facilitating air traffic between Army Flying Fields in the Continental United States." Air-ground and ground-air contacts, point-to-point messages relating to the movement of aircraft, control of military air traffic, and the provision of navigational aids were among the new system's responsibilities.

This all changed with the advent of World War II and the resulting increase in Army Air Corps operations. For the AACS, its challenge was to establish a network of over 700 detachments providing fast and reliable communications connecting the United States to all theatres of operations. The resulting system provided unified command, centralized flight control, and flexibility in the employment of tactical aircraft. The system also accommodated the movement of ferried and transport aircraft along military airways and provided data on which dependable weather predications could be made. Radio and wire facilities circled the globe, providing point-to-point, air-to-ground and ground-to-air communication. Transmission of the human voice, homing signals for aircraft navigation and coded messages were also among the system's functions.

Each AACS detachment connected a variety of commands and theatres, in some instances reaching into forward areas of combat. These detachments varied in scope and complexity, but whatever their capability, it was each unit's officers, radio and teletype operators, cryptographers, equipment maintenance and control tower personnel and other support staff who were responsible for operating and maintaining an uninterrupted worldwide military communications system that was critical to the success of the nation's war effort. (1)

This is the story of one of these detachments, the Naples AACS Detachment at Capodichino Airfield, Italy. It was established as a temporary station in late 1943, but was destined to become a permanent Class A station, the largest and most important in the Mediterranean Theatre of Operations (MTO). It was the first AACS detachment to be established on the European mainland.

Its story began in North Africa in late 1942, when the 18th AACS Squadron landed at Casablanca, French Morocco. The 18th Squadron had been activated in October 1942 at AACS Headquarters in Asheville, North Carolina and assigned to the Twelfth Air Force. Following the American invasion of North Africa on November 8, 1942, the 18th landed at Casablanca in December and established its headquarters at Algiers, with an operational detachment located at the Maison Blanche airport outside Algiers.

Maison Blanche was the main airfield for Twelfth Air Force units supporting the North African campaign against the German Afrika Corps. Its fighter and bomber groups operated from that location from November 1942 until July 1943. Maison Blanche was also a major hub for the Air Transport Command. In March 1943, the 18th Squadron was transferred from the Twelfth Air Force and placed under control of the AACS African Airways Communications Area. (2)

With the successful completion of the North African campaign, the American and British armies invaded Sicily on July 9, 1943, and by September 6 the 18th Squadron had located operational detachments at Palermo and Catania. On September 8, Italy and the Allies announced an armistice, the result of secret negotiations. The German army then occupied all of Italy. On September 9, American forces invaded the European mainland at Salerno and began their advance up the western side of the Italian Peninsula. They arrived in Naples on October 1 and by the twelfth the German defenses on the north bank of the Volturno River had been breached. The following day Italy declared war on Germany and was admitted into the United Nations as a co-belligerent.

As American and British forces continued their advance north, up the Italian Peninsula, the Twelfth Air Force was moving its fighters and bombers to the airfields of southern Italy. It was time for the 18th Squadron to establish its presence on the Italian mainland. The Squadron's first step was to locate a small detachment of communications specialists and equipment at Capodichino Airfield, located in the Naples suburb of San Pietro a Paterino on the main road north to Caserta and Rome. …

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